Golwalkar was a man without political experience; and he was averse to it too.
When Madhukar Dattatreya 'Babasaheb' Deoras, then RSS secretary and later Golwalkar's successor, wanted to turn the RSS into a political outfit, Golwalkar opposed him tooth and nail, leading to friction between the two leaders.
Deoras left the RSS for two years, but Golwalkar stuck to his stand: 'If everyone deserts the RSS, I'll go it alone to rebuild the RSS.'
Golwalkar has been quoted as saying, 'The RSS aims to unite Hindu society and politics by nature will divide it.'
In the 1950s, Golwalkar used the infrastructure of his organisation to collect 20 million signatures in support of a ban on cow slaughter. In 1956, the RSS gave those signatures to then President Dr Rajendra Prasad.
In the 1960s, he turned his focus on 'Hindu unity.' It led him to the issue of the alienation of Dalits and the injustice meted out to them in society.
RSS literature proudly claims that he succeeded in 1969, at the Hindu Sammelan at Udipi, Karnataka, where sadhus and upper caste leaders agreed to declare untouchability as unacceptable. It was the only time Golwalkar, a reticent personality, applauded with the crowd.
Image: Golwalkar (second from right) with Dr Hegdewar, Balasaheb Deoras and other RSS functionaries
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